Reviews

A Surprisingly Exceptional Vertical Drama

I honestly didn’t expect a vertical drama to hit this hard. Most of them are messy, rushed, or full of plot holes — but Pride and Preference is the complete opposite. The story is tight, smooth, emotional, and unbelievably well-executed for its short format. Not a single episode felt choppy or confusing. Everything connects, everything matters, and the pacing is perfect.

What truly elevates this drama is the chemistry between the leads. Their dynamic is natural, warm, and emotionally charged. The acting is impressive across the board, especially from the FL’s parents, who poured their emotions into every scene. The emotional weight in this tiny drama hits harder than many full-length shows.

Both leads have deep backstories that unfold beautifully. Jijun’s duality — switching between a vulnerable, soft-hearted boy and a strong, controlled heir — was especially well portrayed. And Meng Na? Her styling was flawless, and her emotional delivery gave the drama its soul.

I was terrified this would end in tragedy, especially with how intense some episodes were, but thankfully, the drama stuck the landing without betraying the emotional journey. It even made me cry — a first for a vertical drama.

A rare, well-written, emotionally satisfying short series that proves vertical dramas can be exceptional when done right.
A must-watch for viewers who want heartfelt storytelling without unnecessary drama or fillers.

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Bloody REVENGE with a mere HINT of Romance

"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche

Revenge with a capital 'R' and romance with a lowercase 'r' is the theme of this minidrama. The main protagonist is the FL and the the 'boogeyman' ML is mostly a shadow following her around to provide 'slight' assistance. This is especially true in the first portion of the drama which focuses on her personal revenge as opposed to uncovering the masterminds behind the scenes.

Negatives:
🚫 Short length requires break-neck speed and waving hand over details of the past
🚫 Some revenge is shown in detail and some, the end is left hanging in the end offscreen
🚫 There is no ACTUAL kiss between the leads (personally not a negative but for many I know this IS so listing here)
🚫 Typical last second ending

Positives:
✅️ Nietzsche
✅️ A take no prisoners style FL who isn't afraid of mass manipulation
✅️ Multiple layers of character stories told through lines of dialog and brief flashbacks
✅️ Unhinged OTT acting at it's finest (beyond more than just the leads)

IMPORTANT considerations:
🌸 This FL gets her hands dirty and her schemes may have you wonder if the is the same or possibly becoming worse than her object of revenge.
🌸 You must be able to overlook such things as full facial change and later a character having a 'full skin suit'..
🌸 Background information is given out scarcely and sprinkled unevenly. There is a LOT left unsaid which leaves the viewer either frustrated that 'nothing makes sense' if they can't make logic jumps with 2 lines of dialog episodes apart; OR wishing the story were longer so that the show could be more fully fleshed out and characterized.
🌸 This is pure entertainment value with MANY actual flaws, some seemingly in place because of the sheer nature of the scope of work limiting how the novel could be adapted.
🌸 The show provides PLENTY of scenes presented for 'shock value' but does not actually utilize on-screen rape and/or miscarriage - there are scenes of force and violence against woman as well as men.
🌸 If anything could possibly cause someone who is clapping their hands along with the mayhem to sigh it might be the switch-over from 'act 1' to 'act 2' as my personal reaction was: '....And suddenly there's comedy? The stare wide-eyed mouth open for flies, head cocked to the side, can't believe it sort...' Then... 'Omg I can't... This girl isn't acting unhinged but just plain off her rocker 🤣🤡'

🔥Final Rating: 9/10🔥
This is HEAVILY weighted for enjoyment factor and scenes I feel will leave a lingering impact on my mind.
I greatly enjoyed the style of acting the actors were asked to portray, though the ML with his single tear drop was, in my opinion, a 'choice'.
The music was 🤷‍♀️ - it was background music and it fit the scenes
I doubt I will ever rewatch this show in its entirety again, but if clips came up on my screen or if someone were already watching, I'd sit down and rewatch parts.

I paid for the Express Pass and do not regret it.

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Amazing overall

I wanted to watch this for a while and finally I had some time to watch, especially since the drama is not that lengthy. The first two episodes are slow paced but from episode 3, it gets so good! I don't know from where to start, the plot, the acting, the cinematography! Even the opening is mysterious!

Acting is amazing, from Ju Ji Hoon who portrays so well the righteous Crown Prince and the other characters which are complex and bring so much to the drama as well!

Great OST.

Definitely to be rewatched.

The way it finished, can't wait to get to season 2!

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My new favorite kdrama!

This is a late review, but I wanted to post because I LOVED THIS SO MUCH! It was such a feel-good watch.

First of all, the setting of this drama was so healing. The rural seaside town was beautiful, and there were so many shots of the lighthouse and the ocean. It was almost always beautiful and sunny and when it did rain, it was also beautiful. The sound of seagulls was so calming.

While there are two main lead couples (both of which were so cute!) the show also puts emphasis on other relationships outside of romance. There were so many characters in this series that I was also invested in, and excited to see how all of their lives progressed as the show went on. While the drama focuses on people in the small town, it shows people in all walks and stages of life.

I loved seeing all the supportive relationships, especially between the ML and the FL's ex, and how they helped each other process their emotions and provided support for each other.

A couple of things I didn't like:
At some points, when trying to hide their relationship in the early stages, the FL is quite violent with the ML (jokingly, but still) and it was kind of disturbing to see that portrayed in what was otherwise modeled to be a healthy relationship.
I loved that one of the characters was in the LGBTQ+ community, but I wish that they had given her a bigger part of the story and a little more screen time.

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Delightful Zone of Chuckles and Feels

This drama had me cackling most of the time. It’s a neat balance of funny, dramatic and serious. But for me, the funny outweighed most of the other things.

A modern day goody-two-shoes FL gets sucked into a fantasy web novel after leaving a stinging review. On that note, I feel I’d better be careful when I review dramas unfavourably. Who knows! Anyhoo. She gets sucked into the fantasy world but the catch is she becomes a character who is evil, selfish and cruel. Our FL is obviously quite the opposite so she has to correct the past actions of her vile version and figure out a way to return to the reality. She is asked to complete levels to come out. Love Game in Eastern Fantasy is her journey through that world, where she makes friends, meets her love, learns magic and eventually helps defeat the real evil. She is accompanied by the ML who has some dangerous secrets, his sister who is a real sweetheart, an upright, skilled magician-fighter and a cute little demon. What enfolds is a hilarious and heartwarming magical story.

The story sounds tropey. But it never takes itself too seriously; except maybe at the end. The script is tight, except a few episodes which I felt were rather too stretched. The whole Marquess and the wedding fiasco took a lot more screen space than it deserved, although the whole thing was farcically hilarious. Similarly the whole finding Mu Sheng’s mother adventure or Mu Yao and Fyu Yi’s encounter with his psycho sister could have been wrapped a bit faster. But apart from these minor flaws the story and screenplay are pretty controlled. Romance is secondary here. It’s there but it’s more like background music. It’s not the focal point.

The CGI could have been better. Some props were so obviously fake that it gave me the feel of watching an old classic. In today’s tech world, it’s an uncomfortable pill to swallow but the cast and direction more than make up for it.

Ding Yuxi has already established how talented he is. His Mu Sheng is a perfect ML with a right mix of bratty and brave. He is devoted to his sister which makes him suspicious of everybody who tries to get closer to her. He is touched by the thoughtfulness of modified version of Lin Yu but that does not make him lower his guard. She has to earn his trust through her actions. DYX has depicted Mu Sheng’s swagger and vulnerability right on the spot.

But the star of this show for me was Esther Yu. Her Miao Miao is to die for. She is hilariously goofy with high EQ. She is so relatable. Her innocence, bravery, loyalty, goofiness as well as smartness come alive under EY’s craft. Miao Miao never loses the sight of her goal of returning to the reality but in the moment of need, she is ready to sacrifice it for her friends. She is emotionally intelligent to understand Mu Sheng’s dilemma but at the same time clueless to the Marquees’s fanboy. Esther has done a fantastic job here. I simply loved her Lin Yu / Miao Miao.

The supporting cast has done pretty solid too. Zu ShunDan’s Mu Yao is kindness and sweetness personified. Yang Shi Ze’s Fu Yi is so righteous and morally upright that he is borderline boring. Shout out to little Cui Cui. So darn cute.

Direction is on target. All little touches like when Lin Yu automatically starts to kneel down with others in front of Mu Sheng make the drama what it is. Full marks there.

The final battle with the main antagonist was a bit of let down for me. I was also slightly confused by the whole Mu Sheng’s mom turning into the Resentful Woman thingie. The Resentful Woman was established as some big bogeyman from the beginning that her end was a bit underwhelming for me. Also the end of building a sky ladder was slightly stretched than necessary. But again, these were minor detractors. They did not diminish my fun in any way.

All in all, this is a fun drama. A solid green in my entertainment ledger. The humor lands, the heart is real, and despite some wobbly CGI and a few stretched arcs, the cast carries the story with charm and commitment. If you’re looking for a fantasy romp that balances laughs and feels without taking itself too seriously, this one’s an easy pick.

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Brilliantly Done Series

What a wonderful series this is. It is super underrated. Great work at script and execution. Not a minute or boredom. Great work at casting too. The lead couple have superb chemistry and the whole unit has amazing camaraderie! the music is so good!
Character developments are done so nicely and very realisticly. I have become a huge Lee Jun Ho fan, he has acted so well!
Full score for the cinematography, truly no one does nostalgia as good as Korea and they proved it again with this series. You are transported right back to the 90s, special attention has been give to the costumes, fashion, lighting, props, even the music - every elements just screams 90s and its so amazing

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Potential lost cz of poor plot

I watched this show after watching the reel where the main couple 1st meet. Mint is getting bullied and knight kinda protects him.. so i was expecting something really fun to watch like probably a very cunning top and innocent bottom or a love hate relationship like ArcArm had in perfect 10 liners. I start with this drama and yes it seemed fine for like 1 or 2 episodes not that great not that bad. Then they reveal that the reason mild's brother doesn’t approve of knight is cz he 🍇ed mild while he was drunk and during this conversation they kinda show a flashback of the incident and mild is kinda traumatized. So what would you expect? Especially when the topic is so sensitive. You'd expect them to reveal the culprit or a really big redemption arc correct? (I did find it wierd that mild was not affected by it the whole time until the brother brought it up like he didn't show any kind of rejection or fear towards anyone but we can ignore that)....
Well so what do they do?? They just change the whole plot to that being a whole misunderstanding and that never happened 🙄 (then what's with the flashback and mild being traumatized?). Like they just dump that down the trash. Knight says its a misunderstanding and they run away for a private honeymoon WTF🙃🙃🙃
THE ONLY REDEEMING THING ABOUT THIS SHOW WAS THE 2ND COUPLE BUT EVEN THEIR STORY WAS SOO DRAGGY. I had to skip soo much to complete this thing. It was really bad the 1 star is just for the cast and the 2nd couple everything else was pure BS. I've watched soo many bls but this is the 1st one i absolutely hated. Not 1 thing i liked about this drama

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“I Promise I Will Come Back” is a beautifully emotional BL series that tells a story about love, distance, and the quiet promises that hold people together even when life pulls them apart. What makes this series stand out is how simple yet powerful the storyline is. It doesn’t rely on heavy drama or complicated twists — instead, it focuses on the emotional connection between the two main characters and how deeply they care for one another.

The chemistry between the leads feels natural and sincere. From their first moments together, you can see the softness in the way they look at each other, the comfort in their conversations, and the trust they build over time. Their relationship grows in a gentle, realistic way that makes you want to root for them from the very beginning. Even when circumstances separate them, their bond never feels broken — only tested.

The pacing of the series is slow in the best way. It gives you time to sit with each moment, to feel the longing, the hope, and sometimes the sadness. The emotional scenes are handled with care, and nothing feels rushed or forced. The visuals and soundtrack add even more depth, with warm colours and soft music that match the mood perfectly. Every scene feels intentional, almost like a memory being replayed.

What truly makes “I Promise I Will Come Back” memorable is the message behind it: love can survive distance, silence, and uncertainty if the feelings are genuine. It reminds viewers that sometimes the most meaningful promises aren’t shouted — they’re whispered quietly and kept in the heart.

Overall, this series is touching, intimate, and unforgettable. If you enjoy BL stories filled with emotion, tenderness, and beautifully built relationships, this one is definitely worth watching.

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Fake Disabled Male with HIdden Identity and a Protective Female Lead

The FL is an epitome of grace & elegance... the change in facial expressions of the ML is so damn amazing absolutely loved the chemistry between the ML & the FL.The ML knows how to use his eyes. His facial expressions are priceless: from puppy dog to frail to ruthless.The FL was nice also, her stubborn yet softie character was amazing!

Plot - ML is seen as crippled and controlled, abused and humiliated by his mother n half brother.. FL has strong character, lost her parents n needs money to treat her sister. ML's mother is the reason for his father's death as well as FL's parents death n her sister being hospitalized n on life support system.

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good angst at the cost of butchering the female lead

i started this show sometime in may.......it took me 7 months to finish this?!?!

i would have given this show 4/5 stars but they completely ruined it with the last few episodes.
they had good angsty enemies to lovers/doomed love moments but that all came at the expense of butchering the female lead.

we have a good setup and backstory for our lead's journey, him being the devil lord who killed the whole world and her being the pure spirit sent back in time to save the world. we had a good opportunity to see a complex and conflicted journey of falling in love and deciding to choose your own path.
i felt like there were too many filler scenes/storylines which could have been avoided to give space for our lead's to develop a bit more strongly.
like yes we get it tantai jin has had a bad life, his life is epitome of miserable and this pain is what activates the devil lord, so yes we can see his reservations about love and everything. but li susu is supposed to have way more reservations and feel more complicated. she has to see the face which killed everyone she loved and try to prevent the ruin of the whole world, that too alone. we should have seen more of her being conflicted about what she feels towards him, her wondering if she is making the wrong decision by loving him etc. instead we spent a lot of time seeing tantai jin's pain, which yes is needed but i felt like it went on for too long.
tantai jin's character is consistent and his changes makes sense according to his journey. but li susu changed drastically at random points just to get the plot moving. this is very evident in the last few episodes i.e the part after she exchanges her divine essence with the evil bone and reawakens. she was so serious at first, ignoring tantai jin and separating from him for world peace and then she is suddenly very playful with him and then gets drunk and misses out on an important mission. she was conveniently missing from the episodes at the end where major stuff happens, i think we have an episode where she is only present for 10 mins. her life as ye xiuw with tantai jin was also confusing cause we never get a clear idea on what her plan is and every time she is around tantai jin she acts 'cute' (almost baby-ish). we never get a true sense of what she feels about him or whether she is thinking about her duty. her trying to save xiao lin (which then leads to hell) was sooooo confusing to me. even if u want the story to revolve around tantai jin only, li susu needs to be a strong and consistent character cause she is the main reason for his change. also i kinda hated the way the devil lord was so easily re-activated....like wdym li susu time travelled and did all that with no help for it to not matter that much

the angsty parts were good, especially ye xiuw's death. the lore is pretty good and well developed.
them not being able to stay together in every iteration of their soul is insane. matter of fact NO COUPLE got to stay together. everyone died at some point. my least fave might be ye bingchang and xiao lin, they did add much to the story and bringing them back didn't do anything. they should have brought my girl pianran back though

the cgi was not that good to me and at certain times and many of those battle scenes were not needed imo. the ending is good for such a complicated story

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